studio

MIIM Designs - Design Communities + Create Culture

As designers, researchers, thinkers and agents of change, MIIM designs believes that architectural design presents opportunities for transformation: a world where we can enrich and improve the daily life, buildings and spaces to meet the diverse needs of the community they serve and opportunity for cultural dialogue. We draw inspiration from influences around the world to create an "identity" and "place". In short, WE DESIGN COMMUNITIES AND CREATE CULTURE.

MIIM Designs is a multi-disciplinary design studio. Our design projects range in scale: architecture, urban, furniture, fabric, products, and graphics. MIIM Designs uses creative and innovative ways to be agents of change to shape the built environment. We apply modern techniques to redevelop and modify the local traditional methods established by previous generations, developing new design solutions while preserving the local culture, providing greater value for clients and enhanced design and construction. MIIM Designs staff brings expertise from academia, design and business. MIIM Designs’ role is to develop solutions and apply them so that we shape and redefine the relations between objects in context, user experience and aesthetic perspective. We collaborate closely with local architects and engineers, from the start of design, to ensure a successful design project.

MIIM Designs was established in Palo Alto, California by founder and principal designer, Maryam Eskandari. As an educator, Eskandari has directed intensive design research that has been published and exhibited. After a decade of designing in both corporate and private sector, Eskandari returned back to focus on design that is rooted in History, Theory and Criticism. Eskandari graduated from the Aga Khan Program(AKPIA) in architecture. Prior to establishing MIIM Designs, Eskandari was the Director for the American Institute of Architect Associates and DLR Group where she lead the design team to several award winning projects, including the Christine and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Library and Learning Center at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Phoenix College Fine Arts and Eric Fischer Gallery. MIIM Designs has been recognized nationally and internationally with numerous awards, publications and exhibitions for quality and excellence in design. Recently, in 2012, MIIM Designs LLC, was awarded the "Faith and Form Award" from The American Institute of Architects. The International Museum of Women in San Francisco awarded MIIM Designs for the "Sacred Space" exhibit, re-configuring gendered spaces in religious architecture. Currently, MIIM Designs is working on project in New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Accra, and New Delhi.

do good

We are Social Architecture-preneurs™

We here at MIIM Designs, can’t claim or pose as the model of a responsible company – yet we strive and do our best. We came to realize both our environmental and social responsibilities and have began to take steps towards them. As a social enterprise, our first rewarding step has been developing and taking part in our 1+ initiative, where we donate one percent of our working hours to an organization that we are very passionate about. Over the course of the past three years, we have and continue planning on allocating our time for social impact, which will allow for our young designers, to gain experience and exposure through economically challenging projects.

We are committed to design excellence for the good of the public. MIIM Designs works outside the economic constraints of conventional architectural design practice, providing a venue where we can work for the public good. Rather than waiting for the next project commissions that represent well-understood needs and desires, we take on a leadership role, identifying significant problems of wide relevance that require innovative research and design. Come to us - We believe in design excellence is for everyone.